Are Durham's Water Levels Back To Normal?

DURHAM, CT — The Connecticut Water Co. announced that its reservoirs throughout Connecticut "are all at 100 percent of their capacity," according to company officials.

Although precipitation in the first quarter of 2017 was slightly below average according to the Northeast Climate Center, reservoirs were replenished, but at a slower than normal rate.

As a result, the company is still urging caution in how much water customers use. Durham is among the communities Connecticut Water services.

"In 2015 and 2016 we also started the season with reservoirs at capacity, but then experienced precipitation well below annual and seasonal averages," said Craig J. Patla, Connecticut Water’s Vice President – Service Delivery, in a statement. "With that recent history we believe it is prudent for customers to continue to be smart about their water use, should we experience another abnormally dry year. Our priority is to ensure that we continue to have adequate water supplies for essential household, business, municipal and fire protection needs."

Patla also notes that groundwater resources, which are more difficult to gauge than reservoirs, are still recovering from the drought conditions.

Connecticut Water, through its 2016 Water Drop Challenge, saw first-hand how effective customers can be at conserving water when they set their mind to it. In 2016, nearly 5,000 customers enrolled in the Water Drop Challenge to reduce their billed water consumption by 10 percent over the prior year. The company provided them with monthly conservation tips and the results were impressive. More than 60 percent of these customers reduced their water usage and in total saved more than 30 million gallons of water, enough to supply 500 households with water for an entire year.

The tips that successfully helped customers meet the Water Drop Challenge are available at Connecticut Water’s website: www.ctwater.com/conservation.

Photo: Connecticut Water’s Killingworth Reservoir in Killingworth on a rainy day in early April at full capacity. Photo credit: Connecticut Water